"The Other End of the Dismal Swamp" South Mills by grandmaR

South Mills Museum

These three pictures of South Mills were taken while tied to the east side fenders of the South Mills bascule bridge (State Route 343).

I took this picture (on the left) of the South Mills Museum, but when we went back by car, the sign had been removed (the frame for the sign was still there, and you could tell that a sign had been hung there). I haven't been able to find any information about this museum.

South Mills used to be an important port. That's why there was a South Mills battle of the Civil War (description below)

However now, it is a tiny village just north of the lock. If we hadn't gotten to the bridge early and had to stop, we would have missed it.

Intersection

North Carolina: August 1861; February-December 1862 :
South Mills, North Carolina (NC005) , Camden County, April 19, 1862

On April 18 US General Burnside sent US General Reno from Roanoke Island to destroy the South Mills lock of the Dismal Swamp Canal, which connected New Bern via Norfolk to Elizabeth City. If successful Reno would prevent the rumored transfer of Confederate ironclad warships from Norfolk to Albemarle Sound. Reno's 3,000 troops disembarked from their transports near Elizabeth City that night and advanced the following morning on an exhausting march toward South Mills. CS Colonel Ambrose R. Wright posted his 900 men to command the road to the town. Reno encountered Wright's position at noon. The Confederates' determined fighting continued for four hours until their artillery commander, CS Captain W. W. McComas, was killed. To avoid being flanked, Wright retired behind Joy's Creek, two miles away. Reno did not pursue them because of his losses and his troops' exhaustion. That evening he heard a rumor that Confederate reinforcements were arriving from Norfolk and ordered a silent march back to the transports near Elizabeth City. They reached New Bern on April 22, mission defeated.

Estimated Casualties: 114 US, 25 CS

• In a nutshell:Very small town which does not even appear on some maps